Antibiotic prescribing patterns and knowledge of antibiotic resistance amongst the doctors working at public health facilities of a state in northern India: A cross sectional study

Sonia Trikha; Suresh K Dalpath; Meenakshi Sharma; Nusrat Shafiq

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_367_20

Antibiotic prescribing patterns and knowledge of antibiotic resistance amongst the doctors working at public health facilities of a state in northern India: A cross sectional study

J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Aug 25;9(8):3937-3943. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_367_20. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Authors

Sonia Trikha¹, Suresh K Dalpath², Meenakshi Sharma³, Nusrat Shafiq⁴

Affiliations

¹ Executive Director, State Health Systems Resource Centre, Haryana, India.
² Deputy Director, State Health Systems Resource Centre, Haryana, India.
³ Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study is to understand antibiotic prescribing patterns and to understand knowledge of antibiotic resistance amongst the doctors working at public health facilities of a northern Indian state.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study among doctors of the civil hospitals of Haryana state of India was conducted 2019. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire from a total of 215 doctors posted at the 22 district hospitals.

Results: The response rate was 98%. Doctors (66%) perceived antibiotic resistance as a very important global problem, a very important problem in India (68%) and as an important problem in their hospital (31%). Experience in years was significantly associated with considering hand hygiene (OR, 5.78; 95% CI, 1.6420.3; P = 0.005) and treatment of bacteria as per susceptibility report of the organism (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.310.93; P = 0.03). Surgeons reported piperacillin-tazobactam (17%), cloxacillin (17%), and cephazolin (12.05%) and others (54.2%) as the first choice of antibiotics for infection after surgery. Doctors (52.3%) reported that they started antibiotics 12 hours before surgery; 15 (17%) prescribed antibiotics 6 hours before surgery; and 23 (27%) 1 day before the surgery. Time for stopping antibiotics after surgery, as reported by participants, was 1 day (15%), 23 days (35%), 57 days (44%), respectively. A total of 71 (83%) doctors thought that surgical incision could lead to post-surgical site infection.

Conclusion: Findings of study can be utilized to enhance education on antimicrobial prescribing, antimicrobial surveillance, and prescribing patterns among doctors in our settings.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; India; doctors.